ISWC 2014 Workshop Proposal
1.
Title
Big Data and Semantic Web Meet Applied Ontology
2.
Abstract
Since the origin of the Semantic
Web, ontologies have played key roles in its design and deployment. Yet the collaboration
between the Semantic Web and Applied Ontology communities has remained limited.
Within Big Data applications, ontologies appear to have little impact. Principal
problems suggest nevertheless that Òconcepts without data are empty, data
without concepts are blindÓ (Kant paraphrased).
This interdisciplinary workshop
is organized by the Semantic Web Applied Ontology SIG of the International Association
for Ontology and its Applications (IAOA). Continuing the theme of Ontology
Summit 2014, it aims at building bridges between the Semantic Web, Linked
Data, Big Data, and Applied Ontology communities. The three former communities
bring a wide array of real challenges (such as heterogeneity, schema quality, performance,
and scalability) and technologies (such as automated reasoning tools) that are
relevant to ontology research. The Applied Ontology community can offer a large
body of common reusable content (ontologies) and ontological analysis
techniques. Ontology engineering bottlenecks are critical to address for
all communities.
We invite submissions on the
development and application of ontologies for Semantic Web, Linked or Big Data projects
that focus on the analyzing primary
challenges in areas of
interaction, for synthesizing new insights and
disseminating knowledge across field boundaries.
3. Motivation:
Often the communities of applied
ontologies and the Semantic Web (including Linked Data) seem to think they have
nothing in common, whereas some of us believe they share many common goals,
common technologies, and a common interest in well-engineered applied
ontologies. Many of those in the
applied ontology community promote and use Semantic Web technologies and
reasoning methods in everyday practice; similarly, many in the Semantic Web
community advocate more rigorous and principled ontologies based on ontological
analysis. Both
All the communities share the need for
a common semantic understanding and a formal
representation of the domain at hand. The Semantic Web and Linked Data communities also
have challenges to do with large scale applications and linking of vast heterogeneous
data, so the communities also have different foci. The motivation of this workshop is to
bring all perspectives to the table, thus creating a forum for the multiple communities
to work collaboratively in tackling the Big Data and common
problems.
4. Topics
Suggested topics include but
are not limited to:
á
Tackling
the semantic heterogeneity, complexity and variety problem in bBig
dData
with ontologies and reasoning
á
Ontology-driven
open data integration
á Ontological analysis and other formal
methodologies for the sSemantic
wWeb
and lLinked
dData
á
Developing
common reusable semantic content
á Agile ontology deployment and evolution for
the sSemantic
wWeb
and lLinked
dData
á Overcoming ontology engineering bottlenecks
á Providing and enhancing community semantic
resources (ontology registries and repositories, vocabulary-ontology mappings,
data and ontology transformations, automated ontology acquisition and
maintenance, etc.)
á Making use of ontologies: tools, services,
and techniques
á Lightweight, intensive, and hybrid reasoning
using ontologies, vocabularies, and rules
á
Collaborative
ontology development and usage requirements for large-scale
internet and intranet ontology applications
á
Ways to use ontologies and linked data for
participatory governance of large systems
5. Workshop
Format:
á
Paper presentation and position papers
á
Invited talk: TBD
á
Panel discussion (e.g., co-Champions of the Ontology
Summit 2014 tracks)
á
Demos (e.g., extensions of Ontology Summit 2014 hackathon projects, etc.)
á
Summary of the Day and Recommendations
6.
Audience:
The intended audience is developers
and users of Semantic Web and Linked Data technologies, applied ontologists and vocabulary developers, developers and users
of Big Data in scientific and application domains, and governmental,
commercial, and academic managers and analysts who seek to apply Semantic Web
and Linked Data technologies utilizing ontologies to their specific domains,
specific data sources, and their current or emerging applications.
We estimate 30 on-site attendees
at the workshop and 60 (total) if cost-free remote participation is supported
as well.
7.
Chair(s):
Mike Bennett, Hypercube Ltd., mbennett@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, HOMEPAGE,
BIO
Stefano Borgo, Laboratory for
Applied Ontology, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, stefano.borgo@xxxxxx,
HOMEPAGE, BIO
Mike Dean, Raytheon-BBN,
mdean@xxxxxxx, HOMEPAGE, BIO
8.
Program Committee:
Program Committee Chairs:
Elie Abi-Lahoud, University
College Cork – Ireland, E.Abilahoud@xxxxxx
Andrea R. Westerinen, Nine Points
Solutions, LLC, arwesterinen@xxxxxxxxxandreaw@xxxxxxxxxxx
Program Committee Members:
TBD
9.
Length: Full day (can do a half day if requested)
10. Related
Workshops and Conferences:
This is a new workshop, but it is
viewed as a partial continuation of the topics and discussions of the 2014
Ontology Summit which was held between Jan – April 2014 with a face to
face symposium in April 2014. For full details please see: http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?OntologySummit2014. We also anticipate this will
be a continuing annual workshop.
Note also that we
will apply for support from the IAOA Executive Council, and thereby might
provide some assistance with travel/lodging costs to the invited speaker.
